Why Chase Burns Could Become Greatest Cincinnati Reds Pitcher Ever

The Cincinnati Reds have room for improvement, but it's hard for a starting pitcher to be better than Chase Burns has been so far. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is 5-1 with a 1.87 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over nine starts.

Burns ranks ninth in baseball in ERA and 25th in WHIP, which differs from last year. The right-hander went 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA over 13 outings (eight starts) after getting called up to the big leagues for the first time that June.

While it's too early to make long-term proclamations, Burns is showing why the Reds drafted him No. 2 overall in 2024. If the Tennessee native continues to dominate, he'll enter all-time territory in Cincinnati lore.

Chase Burns Showing Hall of Fame Potential

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26). © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

Burns must produce multiple elite seasons to rival Cincinnati's legendary hurlers, but he's at least proving what he's capable of so far. Even if he logs around a 3.00 ERA over the next few years, he'll be on par with Tom Seaver, for example.

Seaver went 75-46 with a 3.18 ERA over six years with the Reds from 1977 to 1982. The 12-time All-Star also pitched for the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox, becoming a Hall of Fame inductee in 1982.